China to land its rover on Mars tonight for its first interplanetary mission
The Zhurong rover will aim for the same spot as NASA s 1976 Viking lander
If the mission is a success, China will be the third country to land on Mars
It will also be the first country to carry out an orbiting, landing and roving operation during its first mission to Mars
China is set to land its Zhurong rover on Mars on Friday as part of the country s first interplanetary mission.
Officials revealed Thursday that the capsule will embark on its seven minutes of terror around 7:11pm ET, which is the same tumultuous conditions endured by NASA s Perseverance rover earlier this year.
Zhurong, named after an ancient god of fire, is tucked in the belly of China s Tianwen-1 spacecraft that entered parking orbit around Mars in February.
The rover will descend into the thin atmosphere tomorrow and attempt to land in the same area as NASA s 1976 Viking 2 lander.
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